COLUMBUS, Georgia -- A Columbus man has been charged with murder in the beating death of his girlfriend’s 23-month-old daughter.

Damien Belle, 19, is being held without bond in the Muscogee County Jail, according to WTVM. He is also charged with first-degree cruelty to children and battery for attacking the child’s mother.

The Ledger-Enquirer reported the child, Ja’Kija Basset, was taken to Midtown Medical Center Friday after she was having trouble breathing. She was later flown by medical helicopter to Egleston Children’s Hospital in Atlanta.